Söderhäll, Julia

Abstract [en]

This study is conducted from qualitative research with interviews as a basis, where I have interviewed four teachers from elementary school’s early ages (year 1-3). The aim is to highlight the teacher’s perspectives and experiences of reading aloud, and how they connect the activity to gender.

The questions at issue that have been answered in this paper are how the teacher’s reflect to gender and reading aloud in a school environment; do the teacher’s reflect over the gender perspective when choosing reading aloud literature? When reading aloud, which attributes are important to highlight for girls and boys according to the teachers? Which books do the teachers consider "good" gender literature?

The paper is based on the theoretical grounds of social constructivism, gender as construction, gender conscious pedagogy and reading aloud. In previous research the focal point has been Kåreland’s study on gender in literature in pre-school, and on how children are being portrayed in children’s literature today, from a gender perspective.

The teacher’s that have been interviewed in this study all agreed on the fact that reading aloud is a very important part of education and are used by most teachers on a daily basis. The teacher’s apply the gender perspective on the choices of reading aloud literature to some extent. Another aspect, such as which theme the class is focusing on at the moment, often precedes the gender aspect. The teacher’s were unanimous that there are attributes that should be highlighted for both boys and girls in the classes, and that this can be done through literature. Attributes the teachers believe boys need to develop are, vulnerability, care and emotions, while the girls need to get a chance to develop courage and strength.